About Us We are Pierced youth ministries of Calvary Chapel Rio Grande Valley. Why do you call yourselves pierced? There are three main reasons. FIRST, the Bible teaches us that our Savior Jesus Christ was pierced for us. For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. Psa 22:16 "I will pour out ... the Spirit of grace ..., so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, .Zech 12:10 John 19:37 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being {fell} upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. Isa 53:5 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. Rev 1:7 SECOND, the Bible uses the expression pierced for what happens to people when they have an encounter with truth. Peter, by the power of the Holy Spirit preached the gospel to Jews from all over the world who were gathered in Jerusalem. Now when they heard {this,} they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37 In the book of Hebrews the power of the Bible is described this way... For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Heb 4:12 THIRD, we see that as believers in Christ we will be pierced. In many placed in the Bible the words for trial, test, and tempt (Peira - peirazo - peirasmos) are all from the same root which means to pierce. In the following verses we have used pierced as the translation for these words. We should look forward to piercing... Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various piercing, James 1:2 We should pierce ourselves... Pierce yourselves {to see} if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test? 2 Cor 13:5 We can be encouraged when we are pierced... For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been pierced in all things as {we are, yet} without sin. Heb 4:15 Blessed is a man who perseveres under piercing; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which {the Lord} has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 We are a group who wants to be pierced, not through the skin, but through the heart, soul, and spirit with the truth of Jesus Christ. What do you do? As Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we seek to obey His words. There are several clear ways a believer should follow Jesus. We remember them through the symbol and acronym of the C.R.O.S.S. The "C" in CROSS stands for Call and is represented by the uppermost bar of the cross, the one that reaches towards heaven. Call speaks of our Worship through prayer and praise. Phil 4:6-7 The "R" in CROSS stands for Relate and is represented by the bar to which Christ's right hand was nailed to. Relate speaks of our fellowship with other believers. Heb 10:24-25 The "O" in CROSS stands for Obey and is represented by the crown of thorns that encircles all of the bars. Obey speaks of our service to God. Mark 10:45 The first "S" in CROSS stands for Study and is represented by the bar that goes into the ground establishing the foundation of the cross. Study speaks of our discipleship through the study of the Bible. 1 Tim 3:16 The second "S" in CROSS stands for Share and is represented by the bar to which Christ's left hand was nailed. Share speaks of our witnessing the truth of the gospel to the lost. Acts 1:8 We are the pierced! Pierced worship is raw from a sincere heart. Unselfish and personal it is a worship that is given to God in hard times as well as good times, outside church as well as inside it. In other words it is a consistent fire that burns within the heart of a pierced believer. Pierced fellowship is transparent accountability with other believers. It is outgoing and honest. Born out of true love, pierced fellowship builds up others with the Word of God. It is a relationship of servant hood. Pierced service is the fruit of a changed life. A life that is different from the world because there is no fear of man. Pierced service is an explosive force that changes the world by saying "Yes to God" in whatever He calls us to do Pierced discipleship is a devotion to understanding the Word of God. A pierced disciple is someone who is stable yet tenderhearted. A life radiating the light of truth that pierces the darkness. One of the few that follows the narrow way, the minority of the pierced. Pierced witnessing is a bold voice, an unashamed proclamation of the gospel. Dependent on the Word of God and a ferocious predator against the lies of hell, the pierced will share the truth about salvation to everyone without bias, so that all might have a living relationship with Christ.